Rainbow Brite and I
by Ra'akone
Summary: Derrick Henderson, from Earth, ends up falling in love with Rainbow Brite...after a terrible tradgedy!
1. The Rainbow Key

Author's Note: I don't own Rainbow Brite, or any other character from Rainbow Land. Hallmark came up with the original ideas, then a company called DIC made an animated series based on it. I think Mattel may have had the toy rights. Anyways, none of those entities are ME. VIA Rail and Amtrak aren't mine either.

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Rainbow Brite and I

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Chapter One: The Rainbow Key

My name is Derrick. I was a service agent. I worked for VIA Rail, I had numerous tasks. My life changed forever on one day in Niagara Falls, Ontario. I, along with a few others, were waiting for the Toronto-bound Maple Leaf. Actually, since the year 2006 it went all the way to Kingston. But the train's destination was irrelevant. I waited as the train pulled up to the platform. It was a six-car long Amtrak Amfleet train pulled by a Genesis II locomotive. A trio of Customs and Immigration officials (the train had just crossed the border from New York) rushed onto the train through one door.

Now, someone had the bright idea to build a jewelry store near the train station. A few moments later I'd be asking what idiot gave the go-ahead for THAT. The first passenger to pass customs walked off through the open door. He was a handsome looking man, roughly my age. Brown hair, and built like an NFL linebacker. And then tragedy broke. I heard a loud alarm bell from that jewelry store that was nearby, and a man in leather with a black mask rushed out, carrying a filled bag and a rifle. A pair of his accomplices rushed out behind him, one carrying more loot, the other carrying a pair of Magnums that he decided to fire warning shots with. Sadly he was not good at firing warning shots. Besides firing some into the air, and at the wall of the station, one bullet hit the passenger who just got off. I volunteered to help him, as the thugs made their getaway. Since basic life-saving skills were standard training for VIA staff in this day and age, I knew what to do. One of my colleagues dialed 911 in the meantime. I opened a general tool kit that was on hand, and got out some small things from the first aid section. He had several bullet wounds, one to the stomach. He screamed for what seemed like a minute, then he calmed down. I assured him the ambulance was on its way. He reached into a pocket, his hand unsteady. "Take…this" he grunted. He handed me a key. "Don't…give…to ANYONE…not even my family…they wouldn't understand!" I looked at the key. Its head was weird. A rainbow with a star-sparkle, with the actual "body" of the key attached to the star. He was breathing heavily. "THE PAIN!" he said. "Use key in lock…any lock…Tell Rainbow…I loved her!" I kept the key hidden in a pocket on my uniform. I assumed that he was delirious. But still, the key looked odd. I hoped that it wasn't an intentional hit. I wondered if I'd find myself embroiled in a conspiracy worthy of a Tom Clancy or Robert Ludlum novel. Was I about to be contacted by members of some secret US government agency so secret that not even the President knew about its existance or something? Was this key able to activate some deadly nuclear weapons? Something told me…to trust him. I'd give the key to no one. But some of his mumblings made no sense. Unfortunately, his health quickly deteriorated. His breathing slowed down, and I felt his pulse, it was weakening. "Goodbye!" I heard him croak. Then his breathing stopped.

Over two hundred passengers were inconvenienced when their train was held up for an hour so that the coroner could arrive. This man, identified as "Brian" by his passport, was officially pronounced dead. This was the first time I actually witnessed a murder in person.

I kept the key with me at all times, I even attached it to my key-ring, along with my house key, my mailbox key and my car-key. But I found it silly, that someone would give me a key and not tell me what lock it fit in. If I momentarily thought I'd been dropped into a Tom Clancy or Robert Ludlum world of intrigue, suspense, and espionage, where this key led me defied their imaginations.

A few days later, when I had finished my shift, gotten off a train in Windsor, Ontario, curiosity got the better of me. "Any lock" were the words I heard. I walked into a passageway that said "VIA Employees only." The hallway was nice and empty. Good. And there was a store-room that had a lock on it. Even better. I took out this Rainbow Key and tried putting it in the lock. I was half expecting it not to fit. It fitted all right, so that's the secret? It was a skeleton key? I unlocked the door, expecting to find crates or something. Instead I saw a long rainbow heading through a clear sky. I took the key out of the lock, and closed the door behind me.

"Toto, we ain't in Ontario any more!" I jokingly said.

At the end of the rainbow I saw a very colorful site before me. There was color everywhere, and in front of me was a colorful castle. Well, Brian told me to find this "Rainbow", whoever she was. A strange creature, looking something like an oversized Koosh ball with a face, limbs and antennae appeared. It was purple in color. He just chatted something in a different language. "Uh, are you Rainbow?" I asked. The thing shook its head. "Is there a Rainbow here? I'm looking for a rainbow…not the thing in the sky, someone named Rainbow!" The thing chattered in an incomprehensible manner and then ran off.

I waited for a bit, and then turned around to leave. I wanted to get back to Windsor, and back to my place. I was about to turn around when I heard footsteps. Then I saw her. She was cute, youngish looking (I'd later find out that she and others of her "race" age differently), and had a warm smile. I felt really bad about what I was going to tell her. She had her blonde hair up in a bun, with a ribbon in it, and she had a purple star under one of her eyes. She wore a dark blue quasi-futuristic dress, as well as rainbow-colored sleeves, and red suspenders that were in place solely to keep a belt in place, a belt with a rainbow and a star on it. She also wore colorful boots. "Pardon me, is there a Rainbow here?" I asked in my most official sounding voice.

"That's me, Rainbow Brite…who are you?"

"Derrick Henderson, VIA Rail Canada. You didn't happen by any chance to know a Brian did you?"

"Brian? Yes, he's my friend!" She then looked at me funny.

"I have bad news for you, uh, Ms. Brite. At 4:30 PM, on Friday the 13th, Brian was shot as he exited train number 98-63. A robbery in progress at a jewelry store adjacent to the Niagara Falls station resulted in him being shot. Regrettably, he did not survive, the coroner pronounced him dead on the spot." Dark clouds momentarily passed over us. A nice irony in the weather.

"You're not serious? Brian…dead? But how did you come here?"

"As he was dying, he passed me a funny key and told me not to give it to anyone, and to tell you that he love you!"

"Me?" asked Rainbow, shocked. I felt awkward. Here I am, in a land of total strangers, telling someone in front of some magical castle that her friend was dead. This wasn't even part of my line of work.

"I'm sorry to break the news, Ms. Brite!" I apologized.

"It's not Ms., silly, it's Rainbow!" She then turned around towards me with a different look in her face, a slightly menacing one, "And why should I believe you, Mr. VIA, that Brian is dead? Are you working for Murky? ARE YOU? You're just trying to upset us!" Her eyes were shooting bullets at me with their stare. I slowly backed off. The denial stage. "You're Mean, you're lying!" Just then another furball, this one white, appeared behind me.

"Where do you think you're going?" he demanded.

"Home! I came here to deliver the news because Brian asked me to before he passed away!"

"You're Lying!" it insisted.

"You want the truth?" I asked, as I ran around him and towards the rainbow out, "You can't HANDLE the truth!" I then took out the key and threw it down. I heard Rainbow going after the key. Good, I could escape.

"Derrick, WAIT!" she yelled. "I'm sorry!" I turned around, and saw her holding the key. I walked back to her. Then she began to cry. More grey clouds were passing over. "Why, why, WHY?" she cried in denial. Tears raced down her cheeks. I slowly walked towards her. I could tell Brian was a close friend. She hugged the white furball, hoping to feel better. I felt terrible.

"I'm sorry, Rainbow! I wish that it didn't happen. If it's any consolation, I was upset. Seeing someone innocent gunned down like that for no good reason…it's senseless!" I then got up to leave, 'I might as well go, I only brought you sadness!" Rainbow ran up to me.

"Wait, take this!" she handed me the Key. "I want you to come back tommorow!" she explained. "So that I can…say goodbye….It's been a long time since I…said goodbye!" she was crying again. "I wasn't even Rainbow Brite the last time…I was just plain old Wisp!"

I didn't know what to say. The news I gave her was like running over her heart with a train. "When Brian…handed me the key…I didn't know what to do. I thought he was crazy. But then…I somehow knew…he wasn't. And when I found out what this key does…I had to honor his last request, and give you the message!"

"Thanks, Brian!" said Rainbow Brite as she hugged me. She had a bitter-sweet look on her face. "Since he isn't here…I needed to hug someone LIKE him instead!"

We exchanged good-byes, and I left on the rainbow. I could have easily told everyone what I saw, but nobody would believe me. Besides, there are somethings that are best left secret.

The next day, after work, I made use of the key again. On hand was Rainbow, as well as the white furball, and many other furballs. Rainbow told me the correct name for those things was "Sprites." Besides her, there was also her horse, a white horse with rainbow mane and a rainbow tail, and several people of Rainbow's "race", of different colors. The most striking thing about them was each one had hair of a different color, and they were dressed in that color. There was a boy in red (Red Buttler), a girl in orange (Lala Orange), another girl in yellow (Canary Yellow), a girl in green (Patty O'Green), a boy in blue (Buddy Blue), a girl in indigo (simply "Indigo", for some reason she just had one name), a girl in violet (Shy Violet), and even one in pink (Tickled Pink). I had changed into a dark suit, considering the occasion. I soon found out I needn't have bothered.

"Why you dressed so glum?" asked Rainbow.

"You're saying goodbye to Brian. Where I'm from this is what you wear to funerals. Funerals are very glum! It's hard to be cheerful about death!"

"But we always use color!" explained Rainbow. Without asking, she pressed a hand against her belt, and produced some star-shaped sprinkles with the other. The belt glowed, and then she projected a rainbow beam at me. My suit was so loud that If I had a frilly cravat and a pair of plain glasses, I'd be mistaken for Austin Powers.

The Rainbow Land All Sprite Band began playing a song. I noticed that while they did have some minor chords, they seldom went all out sad. As if they had to maintain color, no matter what. Rainbow enterd the Color Castle and re-appeared on a balcony.

"Today is a sad day!" began Rainbow Brite with a semi-somber voice. "Brian is gone, but not forgotten!" A glum filled the crowd. "Sadly, for the first time, I must produce the Inverted Rainbow right here, in Rainbow Land!" Again she activated her rainbow-belt, and this time she produced a rainbow in the sky, but with violet on top and red on the bottom. It was also slightly less opaque than the other one. I heard about inverted rainbows, but this was the first time I ever saw one. The crowd looked at it in amazement. I could tell, from their faces, that this was the first time, in recent history at least, that they had been to a funeral. "We say goodbye, as Brian rides on the Inverted Rainbow, to the *Happy Place*, place in the *Above*." Then it was time for the eulogies. Each of the Color Kids, as those people were called, gave one, as did some of the Sprites, Twink being the one who translated for all the others. Even Starlite did.

The penultimate one was to be said by me, and I wasn't sure what to say. If I had taken up that PR position up for grabs, then maybe I'd know what to say…but then again I wouldn't have had an opportunity to get the Key. I approached the raised dais that was used for the occasions. I cleared my throat, and then began speaking.

"I didn't know Brian for that long. He stepped off a train I was assigned to before it was my train, while it was officially still an Amtrak train. He was handsome, tall, looked like he was a linebacker for an NFL team." I felt awkward. At the heat of the moment, it hadn't occurred to me that nobody here had heard of NFL, or Amtrak. "He was happy and full of life, until a stray bullet from a hold-up occurred. That bullet slowly robbed him of his life. It was a terrible tragedy. His last words were for me to take the Rainbow Key, and to tell Rainbow that he loved her!" I could see Rainbow blushing. "This is a sad loss for us all!" After that Rainbow gave the final eulogy.

"I feel touched, that he wanted me to know, that he loved me. But I'll never be able to feel that love. Never will I kiss him. I'm feeling a sadness, something sadder than anything Murky and Lurky could have thought up. But just because Brian is no longer with us in person, doesn't mean he can't be with us in spirit. We will always remember him!"

After that the All Sprite Band then played something that sounded like a cross between Sound Garden's "Black Hole Sun" and The Beatles' "Michelle."

We ate in the dining hall that evening, except there wsa one empty seat, and Rainbow insisted it be kept empty. I took it it was symbolic for Brian. Rainbow sat on one side of the empty chair, and I sat on the other side of her. The food we ate came in many different colors, and I sometimes wondered if they had a hang-up or something. However, I was happy to be included as a friend, even though I brought bad news. I told them everything about myself and what I do. I was right, they kept asking about "VIA" and "Amtrak", although the rails weren't that alien, especially since the castle was connected by rails to a mine on a mountain. However, instead of diesel, the mine-carts came down by gravity, and were hauled up by a special moving cable system. I learned also that these strange people took it upon themselves to keep their world, and the Earth colorful. Somehow their world was connected to the Earth.

After dinner I said goodbye, and Rainbow reminded me NOT to lose the key. Little did I realize then how important Rainbow Land…and Rainbow Brite…would become to me.

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To be continued…

Author's Notes: This is kind of a semi-self insertion. Derrick is kinda inspired by me, but not exactly me. I'm just not the type to do straight self-insertions.


	2. Do You Believe in Love At First Brite?

What ain't mine ain't mine…as this is a fanfic most of the stuff ain't mine. Leonard Cohen and Kurt Cobain don't endorse my work (in fact Cobain is in no condition to), they are used because their music can be depressing.

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Rainbow Brite And I

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Chapter Two: Do You Believe in Love At First Brite?

I started visiting Rainbow Land regularly. When the weather became more depressing one week I found myself going there more often, since they didn't have as much bad weather up there. I also stopped going to bars in the evening, I found Rainbow Land way more fun than downing a few beers in a smoke-filled noise-saturated dive. I often brought sutff from Earth, everything from books to videos to literature from VIA Rail, consequently the residents of Rainbow Land knew more about the trans-continental _Canadian_ than most Canadians.

Speaking of which, I ended up being transferred to be on the crews that work on this prestigious train. But the good thing was, no matter where I went, where there was a keyhole, there was a way to Rainbowland.

One day I asked Rainbow Brite about this "Murky" that she mentioned when I first came there, that "Murky" she accused me of being a helper of.

"Oh, that's our enemy!" explained Rainbow, "He hates colors, so he's always trying to take my Color Belt. He wants the world to be colorless and gloomy.

"But recently he's been quiet!" added Twink. "Perhaps a little too quiet. We even looked at the Pits with Shy Violet's telescope and we haven't seen much really!"

She spent the rest of the day telling me about him and his bumbling stooge, Lurky. A look of sadness appeared on her face whenever she mentioned Brian, who helped stop some of Murky's nastier plans.

I was half hoping to meet this jerk. He sounded like he needed a shrink. A shame that the moon has no atmosphere, because it's pretty colorless, why not move there? Oops, the air question.

Another thing that changed, I started telling VIA Rail that I had people I knew who could put me up in every city where I'd have to spend the night. They thanked me for this since I was sparing them the cost of a hotel. Of course what I'd do is find a locked door and then go spend the night in Rainbow Land. They really liked me. I wonder if I was becoming Brian's replacement…or even more?

Rainbow began greeting me with a tight hug, or sometimes even a kiss on the cheeks. A couple of the Color Kids, Red Buttler and Shy Violet among them, claimed that she never acted this affectionate before. I didn't mind, I haven't had a girlfriend for a couple of years.

Once on my day off, Rainbow took me for a walk near the edges of the Pits. I had brought my guitar with me, just in case I was inspired to play it. The whole place looked depressing. I joked about it being hit with an anti-charm missile. Then Rainbow told me that at one time ALL OF RAINBOW LAND looked like that. I just repeated how depressing it was. I said that Leonard Cohen and even Kurt Cobain seemed more cheerful compared to that dump. And a dump it really was, pieces of garbage and used machinery and vehicles littered most of the landscape, except for a small hill with a face on it, and a sign that said "Keep Out!" Rainbow, however, had no idea what I was talking about. I began singing one of Leoanrd's songs, "Hallelujah," and then switched to Nirvana's "Lithium", which I did an unplugged rendition of. Rainbow was surprised, and it seemed like "depressing music" was an entirely new concept for her. I then told her just how depressed, especially Kurt Cobain, they were.

"Is this a joke?" she asked, "I can't believe it, how can someone be so glum that…they…" She couldn't finish that sentence, and I don't blame her.

We turned around to leave the depressing place. Just then I heard a loud engine. Sounded something like a mal-tuned Mexican bus. Then I saw them. Murky and Lurky, on a dune-buggy with an attached crane arm with a claw. The thing swung around and grabbed Rainbow. She screamed. I ran after them. Even though the buggy was faster, it wasn't by that much. The Color Kids have a problem with this place because of its depressing lack of color. I din't, even though it looked terribly depressing.

I soon arrived at the small place they lived in. I could handle doors and rowdy people, it kind of came with the territory. So I just pretended that the green-faced Chaplin-mustached Murky was some drunk without a valid ticket who was harassing fellow passengers.

I stormed into the castle and I noticed that his "security" was pretty lax. It consisted of one brown furball who might have been as strong as an ox but he had the mental ability to make Forrest Gump look like a rocket scientist. I just said "I'm here to deliver tickets to Mr. Dismal, for his Thursday trip aboard the Canadian!" So he stood aside, and in a back-room he had Rainbow tied to a gurney underneath a De-Colorizer, some machine that resembled something at a hospital, but made up of spare parts. I guess the advantage of living in the junk yard was anyone with the right brain could work wonders. And I had to admit that this kook in the helmet (which looked like something some restaurant threw out last week) was pretty much a McGiver. But he kidnapped Rainbow. So I rushed in and got into a fight with Murky. He threatened me with a "Gloom-Gun", but I just chopped it out of his hand. I then went and freed Rainbow. She thanked me and we ran away. Just as we neared the border between the Pits and Rainbow Land proper, the Two Stooges came after us in their Grunge Buggy. We made it to the border, and Rainbow Brite turned around and activated her Color Belt. She shot a rainbow at the garbage-can-sidecar of the vehicle, and it was colorized.

"RETREAT, RETREAT YOU NUMBSKULL!" shouted Murky, as they did a U-Turn. "This isn't over yet, I'll have that belt, and this whole Rainbow Land will be like it was in the good old days! When Plan Z comes you'll be sorry!" I coughed as a large ball of smoke came from the back of that vehicle. Apparently Murky had never heard of the muffler or the catalytic converter. Rainbow and I held hands and walked back to Rainbow Land. We told everyone the news, that Lurky still hadn't given up, and that he warned of a "Plan Z."

"Plan Z, or not Plan Z, that is the question!" commented Indigo, paraphrasing one of the many plays that she had down in her head line-for-line.

There was a new sense of worry, because it seemed that Murky was up to something. And Murky being "up to something" always meant one thing. "Trouble!"

Everyone was happy that I saved Rainbow Brite. Everyone asked for the details. I even told them that I had dealt with people far worse than Murky before.

A couple of days later when I arrived in Rainbow Land again Rainbow asked me a question. "Would you like to…go out with me tonight? On a date?" I blushed. And then I accepted. This was the first time a girl had asked me out like this. I could tell it was the first time she asked anyone out.

That night, as we walked around Rainbow Land, from Red Region to the Pink Prairie. And then I realized it. "Rainbow Brite…I Love You!" She responded with a hug.

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To be continued…

Author's Notes: Ok, chapter 2 is up. Not sure what will happen in chapter 3, but eventually Murky's "Plan Z" will be revealed. It will be his final attempt to take over Rainbow Land. Also, expect the love to blossom, why do you think this story is called "Rainbow Brite and I"? Pink Prairie is not as "canonical" a part of Rainbow Land as the Red Region, but since so many websites mention it, I'll take the same liberty as they do.

~Ra'akone


	3. Murky's Final Attempt Plan Z

Author's Disclaimer: Remember, what ain't mine, ain't mine.

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Rainbow Brite And I

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Chapter 3: Murky's Final Attempt – Plan Z

_How Not To Be Seen_. Sounds like the name of a Monty Python sketch. But it's actually a book that I purchased a couple of months later. Why? Because I was thinking of pulling up roots and moving to Rainbow Land. The only thing I really had going for me on Earth was my job. And I was falling in love with Rainbow Brite. I didn't want the whole Earth knowing…some corrupt politician, some megalomaniac heartless CEO, some crazed Ayatollah, some overzealous general or perhaps Jerry Falwell…they'd all want Rainbow Land for their twisted ends. So it's best nobody knows. I wouldn't want my small family even knowing, and thus ending up in the midst of a conspiracy that not even Tom Clancy or Robert Ludlum could ever have dreamt of.

I was walking with Rainbow one day, near the waterfall, and I decided to ask a Really Big Question.

"Rainbow," I began, "I have something important to ask you."

"Yes Derrick?" she replied.

"My sweet, I have to ask you…" I hesitated as I reached to take out a ring. Suddenly something whistled through the air and exploded nearby. A large cloud of dark gas erupted, and the area around it became paler in color. "WHAT'S THAT?"

"Oh no, MURKY!" exclaimed Rainbow. Just then another thing, it looked like an artillery shell, landed next to a Sprite house in the distance. "We have to get everyone!" She and I dashed into the Color Castle, and we approached a console in one corner of the "factory" section. She opened a panel and took out a key from her dress, and turned it to the right. Loud airhorns and bells sounded.

"So this is your air-raid siren?" I commented. She didn't get that. Soon everyone was gathered in the Color Refinery room (the one with the many consoles around a rainbow cylinder), and Rainbow Brite told what happened.

"The same thing happened in the Blue Zone!" said Buddy Blue, "That thing got in the way of the finish line!"

"It hit the cherry trees at the south end of the Pink Prairie, now they've lost their colors!"

The purple Sprite, IQ, began chitter-chattering, and everyone nodded in agreement.

"What did he say?" I ask.

"Well," Began Twink, "He's saying that Murky is using some kind of long range cannon!" IQ chittered some more. "And that it's not even coming from Murky's normal castle. There's a large cloud somewhere else in the Pits!" More chittering. Twink was now simul-translating him. "We might have a rough location. It's a left-turn off the main road in the Pits to get there, but there's too much cloud. By tracing the trajectory of the artillery shells we got a good idea. We couldn't triangulate, but we quadrilateralized pentagonally. Worse more, there seems to be some kind of distortion field!"

"This isn't good!" I said. "They've gone too far!" Everyone nodded in agreement. "He wants to take Rainbow Land. Let's pay him back!"

"How?" sugggested Indigo, "While many a heart can quickly decide the path of revenge, the cultured mind will hesitate, that is to state, it will certainly wait…it's from a play I'm writing!"

"We invade, and we colorize the Pits. This madness will end now!"

IQ and Twink began their talking. "I think there must be a cloud generator somewhere in the original castle, but it never could be found!"

"Great idea!" said Spark, Canary's sprite, once again with the translation of Twink, "Even the Pits deserves joy!"

Everyone was in agreement.

Later that day we all headed towards the Pits. Everyone was carrying massive quantities of Star Sprinkles. Until the generator was dealt with, if there was any generator, cowboying our way in with all color-belts a blazin' would be futile. So the way to work our way in was gradually. WE started by "colorizing" a few trees at the border, and worked our way along the road. Then Tickled Pink and Patty O'Green were hit by a shell. They lost their color and had a vacant expression. Thankfully a few Star Sprinkles cured them. But we didn't have infinite sprinkles. I led the charge to the original castle. The only thing to worry about was the shells. No goons, no security system, no dogs. Some super-villain? A super idiot more likely.

He didn't even lock his front door. We were all becoming depressed by now, as would be expected, but we pressed on. We split up, madly off in all directions. Canary yelled from downstairs, so we went to see her. There was an enormous machine set up, and on it was written the words "Gloom-o-Matic." It had an enormous pipe leading to the castle's exterior, and it consisted of several large tanks, as well as an electrical dynamo of some sort. Some meter on it beeped, and the machine came to life. A fountain appeared, one made out of gloom-water. Rainbow told me about this, and how he once made a weapon of it to "murk" the Color Kids and kidnap them. A series of electrodes descended, and came to life. The arcing electricity was creating both ozone, and clouds from the water.

"It seems that the meter is, uh, some kind of regulator!" commented Violet, examining the machine. She looked around, hoping to find a switch. It was in a position that had the word "ON" highlighted. She tried pushing it up. It was too heavy for her. So I helped. It eventually flipped, and that "On" disappeared. The other position was marked…ON!

Sadly, the place was too "greyed" for Rainbow's Color-Belt to work. I noticed there was a grate on the floor. Perfect. I found a crowbar in the corner, and began hacking at pipes in the machine. I laughed as the vile liquid began pouring out. Eventually the fountain died down. An alarm sounded. Pieces of pipe had fallen onto the floor. The Color Kids helped themselves to bludgeoning implements, and we became a modern-day set of Luddites.

Soon the Gloom-o-Matic was a pile of scrap. WE got up to leave. No sooner did we start leaving then a shell crashed through the room and began bathing the room in gas.

"DROP TO THE GROUND AND CRAWL!" I barked. In this confined area, the cloud wasn't only depressing, it was also downright dangerous. We crawled up the stairs, and eventually we were able to breathe again.

"I'm glad he's a bad shot!" laughed Buddy Blue.

As we exited the castle, we noticed the clouds were beginning to dissipate.

"Murky's not going to like this!" laughed Rainbow.

So we made our way over to the new castle. All we had was a rough map. It was useless since we had a big question mark where we had to go. There was a maze of narrow roads, some of them lined with rotting trees.

Eventually we arrived at the place. It resembled a gothic castle, but with a large version of Murky's face at the entrance. The walls and face were a dark drab grey, like everything else around here.

"Rainbow Brat and the Color Clods!" greeted Murky through a PA system, "Come on in, stay awhile! STAY FOREVER!" A disturbed laughing followed that. IQ, the Sprite genius, tried his best to pick the front locks. There wasn't any need, Murky wanted us coming in.

"This has to be a trap!" I suggested. Everyone shuddered at that. "But he can't trap us. He always fails!" That reassured everyone.

We entered, and the interior was worse. Dark grey curtains and grey carpets. We came to a door and a staircase. I opened the door, just to find it was a closet with a tube installed. As I rushed to close the door the tube sprayed Gloom-liquid at me. I felt lethargic, and all my thoughts were turning terrible. I saw faint flashbacks of the murder, and I started hearing Nirvana music, and I started to sing to it. "I'm so happy, 'cause today I found my friends, they're in my…" I then switched songs, "Heart-shaped box, for a week…I'm not the only one, I'm not the only one…"

"SNAP OUT OF IT!" screamed Rainbow, as she snapped her fingers in front of me, or so she later told me (I was really messed up by that gloom, must have had depressants mixed in, I guess you'd call it "Kurt in a Kan!") Finally it left me…but I felt like I'd been run over by a train while being eaten by snakes.

We went up the stairs, not wanting to try any more doors.

"Thank you for DROPPING IN!" barked Murky over the loudspeakers, and the staircase suddenly opened beneath us, swallowing us up. We landed in a dark dungeon, Rainbow Brite landed directly on top of me. Everyone else was all in a pile. "Now none of you shall stop me, Murkland shall be born!"

I tried punching and kicking at the only door, a heavy metal thing. No use. However, there was a window on the side.

"It's hopeless!" said Canary Yellow.

"_C'est terrible_!" commented Lala Orange.

"I'm too depressed!" said Red Buttler.

"Oh untimely capture!" paraphrased Indigo.

"I'll never laugh again!" cried Tickled Pink.

"We could just sit here…or we could try getting out!" I suggested.

"But HOW?" asked Twink.

"Think about it. What one thing that Murky has is his greatest weakness?" Everyone scratched their heads. "Lurky! Murky still depends on him for so much, and Lurky's not the sharpest knife in the drawer!"

"So what does that mean?" asked Pink.

"We'll just lure Lurky over here, and trick him into getting us out!"

"How?"

"By singing!" Everyone gasped. "We'll make enough noise to get Lurky down here. Now let's start singing…uh…Rainbow, you chose the song!"

She started singing something about color…if most songs where I'm from were about love, up here, it was color.

"QUIET, PRISONERS, I can't hear myself think!" We paid no attention. "This is your last chance, SHUT UP!" We still ignored them. "OK, you asked for it, LURKY, GO DOWN THERE AND SHUT THEM UP!"

A few moments later was saw Lurky arrive. We stopped singing. His footsteps were heavy, and the hallway echoed with his clumsy steps.

"Uh, Murky says he don't like your singing!"

"Lurky, there's something wrong in here, one of the walls is full of cracks!" I told him.

"I have to see this, that's wrong!" Lurky then opened the door, using a switch nearby. "I'll check…no, I have to check on the engines, or else Murky will get mad!"

"We'll do that, you check the cracks, ok?"

"Sure thing!" We all left the cell, and then I closed the door. We rushed up a spiral staircase, noticing rats everywhere.

"Do you hear something?" asked Orange.

"I think so!" I replied. I heard a low hum.

"FOLLOW THAT NOISE!" Rainbow and I ended up saying in unison. We laughed at that as we continued through a corridor. Now noises were louder, and I heard a diesel engine. I also heard off-key singing.

"When we're alone, no chaperone, let's make things GREY!" he started singing, before changing, "Every time it rains it rains, gloom-bombs from heaven!" He then shifted musical gears again. "Shades of GREY, it's all that I need!"

I then saw him. The kook in the helmet himself, who'd keep aiming the cannons…it turned out there were at least five of them…and he loaded the shells into each one, before going to a targeting console.

We agreed that the Sprites would tackle the generator, the color kids would try to disrupt anything else in here, and Rainbow and I would taken on Murky. We made our move.

"WHAT? How did you…" he began, dumbfounded.

"You should have installed surveillance cameras, you twit!' I explained.

"But…but…" He then turned to an air-powered microphone. "LURKY, STOP THEM! STOP THESE INTRUDERS!"

"It won't work!" warned Rainbow Brite, "He's trapped!"

"But how could he…"

"His cars are running without a locomotive!" I stated. "I'd think you would have found a replacement for that bungler by now! And you're about to get another nasty surprise!"

"CAN IT, I'll have you yet, I have this!" He pulled out a gloom gun. "One move and I pull the trigger!"

"There's something worse coming your way!" warned Rainbow.

"And why should I be afraid? There's too much gloom-cloud, not enough color, not enough light, your belt is USELESS here!" Just then sunlight filtered in through a window. "Ignore that light, more clouds will cover it!"

"Look outside, bozo!" I chided at him.

"I'll do so, but…WHAT?" HE noticed it was very bright. "How can this be, my generator…"

"Is history!" I filled in. "You thought you had us fooled? We happen to have a couple of certified geniuses, they knew where your shells were coming from. From now on, if you want to see dark clouds, ask Stormy, and please do it nicely!"

"That's it!" He prepared to fire. Rainbow beat him to it, and the gun was whipped out of his hand by a rainbow. The entire room was colorized. All the machinery was smashed around. A loud cheering filled the room. He walked backwards on the now cream-colored floor. He pressed a few buttons and opened a secret door, where he had a spaceship waiting. He climbed into it and started it, and the door closed.

"I'll be leaving here, I don't even know where to go…Argentina would be nice, but it's too COLORFUL!" he yelled. Then an alarm came to life. "Oh, enjoy my present to you guys, have a blast!"

"AUXILLARY GENERATORS ONLINE!" announced a voice. "SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE HAS BEEN INITIATED!" I then heard a roar and it turned out Lurky had also gotten away. We had to hurry out. I've seen enough "self-destruct sequences" to know what would happen. It was a mad rush to escape. Obviously Murky had never heard of fire escapes, nor that bylaw that stated that doors had to open outwards. I wish I had one of those portable bullhorns. We did emergency drills at VIA, so I knew how to properly evacuate a train if need be. But trains were not set up like mazes.

"Follow me!" I yelled!" And all of the sudden I had the longest "tail" of Sprites and Color Kids following me.

"TWO MINUTES REMAINING!" warned the voice. WE hurried. I tried a door. No, a dead-end. I had to signal everyone back, and then everyone forward. We finally arrived at a familiar passageway. "ONE MINUTE REMAINING!" We reached there, when metal doors slammed in front of us. "Thirty Seconds Remaining, Normal Exits have been closed!"

"There has to be an over-ride somewhere!" shouted Shy, overcoming her usual shyness. I wasn't surprised, it's easier to be un-shy when you're in a castle that's about to explode. I found a console next to the door. Shy did some fooling around. Eventually the doors beeped and flew open.

"TEN!" said the voice. We hurried out, we seemed to all be out by the time it said "FIVE!" but I looked back behind. Rainbow Brite was there, but she tripped over.

"GO!" she yelled, "Don't worry about me!" She threw me her Color Belt.

"TWO! ONE!" Then some silence. "ZERO! SELF-DESTRUCT COMMENCING…HAVE A NICE DAY!" A low rumble was heard, followed by a loud BANG!" And Rainbow was thrown forward. Pieces of the castle fell apart, and several explosions ripped through it. An impressive display of smoke and rubble marked the place that once had the proud castle. And Rainbow was lying unconscious. I checked for breathing. Thankfully it was still there. But now my heart was beating quickly. More quickly than the clickety-clacking noise I heard when I was working on the trains between London and Windsor. I picked her up with both my arms, carrying her in a "fireman's carry" position. She was lighter than I thought she'd be. She was still a little heavy, but I didn't mind the load. I knew I'd be aching all over the next day because of it, but I didn't mind. I noticed everything seemed more colorful. Starlite had arrived when things got better, and Buddy Blue and Red Butler helped me load Rainbow onto Starlite. Then we began the walk towards the Color-Castle.

Once there, we helped her into her bed. It was a large bed, rainbow colored pillows and blankets, and a four-posted canopy above it. A pair of sprites, Dr. Cheer and Dr. Robert, started examining her.

"Nothing wrong with her, just unconscious and worn out!" explained the ever-helpful Twink. The sun was setting. Since I wasn't needed for some time, I decided to spend the night, in another room of the castle.

It was late that night, when I was about to get undressed to go to sleep, that I heard a knock on the door. "Come in!"

The door opened. Through it stepped Rainbow Brite, wearing just a pair of rainbow socks and a purple and white nightgown. She came in and hugged me tightly. "Thank you for saving me there!" she said. "And thank you for stopping Murky. It's over. There's no longer the Pits, we now have the Eastern Colordillera. And I need to thank you1" She then kissed me on the lips. I got up and closed the door. I got a large VIA-Rail duffel bag from next to my bed, opening a side pocket. "It's something I wanted to ask you!" I got out something I had tightly clasped in my hands. I opened my hands in front of her, revealing a ring. I got down onto one knee. "My dearest Rainbow…will you marry me?"

She became silent, and then she blushed for a moment. An enormous smile erupted on her face. She hugged me.

"Yes….yes, I'd like that very much! I want you with me!" She then kissed me. She walked over to my bed and sat down on it, and pointed me to sit next to her. "Are you sure? I mean, you'll be leaving your home, and…"

"Don't worry!" I reassured her, "There's not much left down here. My future is up here. With the girl I love!" I hugged her.

"And there's one other thing. I had a dream, a dream about something bad and scary that I haven't had for a long, long, long time! I didn't tell anyone this, but I'll tell you!"

"What is it?"

"It's about my past…before I came to Rainbow Land. It's something I don't tell many people about. I try to keep it to myself. I was hoping I'd forget about it. But I haven't. Vague memories of…my mother…I'm not sure exactly what she looked like…and someone being told to 'bring me to safety.' I also remember running off a…train, like those things in the pictures. I was told to 'go find the color,' and even that 'they' wanted me. It's scary! And something may have happened…to my mother!"

"AWWW!" I hugged her tightly.

"Thanks for hearing me out!"

"You're welcome, my sweet!"

We talked a little more, and then we went into our separate beds. But I knew that I'd soon be lying right next to Rainbow Brite, in marriage.

__

To Be Continued…

Shoutouts: Everybody and their mother!

Author's Notes: Ok, chapter 3 Is finally up. Some of you may be upset that Murky is gone, but a new badguy will appear later. And what happened to Lurky? That too wil be revealed. Ditto for Rainbow/Wisp's past.

~Ra'akone


End file.
